Sill trim strip and panel siding

ABSTRACT

A trim strip for use with metal wall siding to retain a piece of siding or other member below a window sill or other projecting member in a building. The trim strip is formed of sheet metal and has a substantially flat body portion and a lip portion which is bent from the upper edge of the body portion in substantially V or U-shaped relation to the body portion and which terminates in an edge portion which is curled upwardly between the body portion and the lip. The trim strip is secured to the wall below the lower surface of the sill or other projecting member. A conventional piece of metallic siding is trimmed to the desired height to fit below the sill and has a series of outwardly projecting lugs or fingers formed along its upper edge to engage the trim strip and float with relation thereto.

finite Torhett States Patent 11 1 Sept. 11, 1973 [52] U.S. Cl 52/522,52/545, 52/547 [51] Int. Cl E0411 1/34 [58] Field of Search 52/535, 522,528,

156] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,897,930 8/1959 Primich52/522 3,233,382 2 1966 Graveley, .lr. 52/522 1,475,539 11/1923 Burtis52/530 2,766,861 10/1956 Abramson.... 52 545 3,473,274 10 1969 Godes52/575 2,126,676 8/1938 Thomas 52 409 2,853,163 9/1958 Lockwood 52 5302,206,201 7/1940 Plym 52 547 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 949,6219/1956 Germany 52/544 Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott AssistantExaminerLeslie A. Braun Att0rney-Oldham & Oldham [57] ABSTRACT A trimstrip for use with metal wall siding to retain a piece of siding orother member below a window sill or other projecting member in abuilding. The trim strip is formed of sheet metal and has asubstantially flat body portion and a lip portion which is bent from theupper edge of the body portion in substantially V or U- shaped relationto the body portion and which terminates in an edge portion which iscurled upwardly between the body portion and the lip. The trim strip issecured to the wall below the lower surface of the sill or otherprojecting member. A conventional piece of metallic siding is trimmed tothe desired height to fit below the sill and has a series of outwardlyprojecting lugs or fingers formed along its upper edge to engage thetrim strip and float with relation thereto.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDSEPI t ms FIG. 6

INVENTOR. w' v Zm/dt BY OLDHAM a OLDHAM ATTORNEYS SILL TRIM STRIP ANDPANEL SIDING The present invention relates to metallic siding of thetype which is widely used on the exteriors of houses and otherstructures and more particularly to an improved trim strip for securinga piece of siding below a window sill or other horizontal projection.

A widely used form of metallic siding consists of horizontally extendingmetal strips which are formed to duplicate the appearance of woodenclapboard siding. Each siding strip is formed with a downwardlyprojecting lip near its upper edge for receiving a mating upwardlyprojecting lip at the lower edge of the next higher piece of siding.Each piece of siding extends a short distance above the lip to provide anailing strip for securing the siding to the building wall. Thus, thenails are all concealed and a neat appearance is achieved. However, whenthe siding is being fitted around a window or other projection from thestructure wall, the upper edge of the siding panel terminatesimmediately below the sill or other projection and there is no coveringpiece to shield the nails which are employed to hold this piece ofsiding in place. Nailing through the exposed portions of this sidingmember is undesirable since the nails invariably cause wrinkling ordishing of the siding panel, detracting from its ap pearance, orotherwise being objectionable in appearance.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide anattractive trim strip for use with metallic siding which may bepositioned immediately below a window sill or other horizontalprojection of a building structure to receive and hold the upper end ofa siding panel or other member by a sliding or floating connectiontherewith.

It also is an object of the invention to provide a trim strip which maybe nailed to the building structure in such a manner that the nails areconcealed when the siding panels are installed.

A further object of the present invention is a provi-, sion of a trimstrip for retaining a piece of siding below a window sill or otherprojection which eliminates the need to nail the upper end of thesidingpanel and for providing an attractive finished structure.

The above and other objects of the invention will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description and are achieved by providing a trimstrip which consists, essentially, of a metallic strip which has asubstantially flat body portion, a lip portion bent from the upper edgeof the body portion in generally U-shapei l relation to the bodyportion, and terminating in an inwardly curled edge. The lip portionextends somewhat less than half the height of the body portion so thatthe lower part of the body portion may be nailed directly to thebuilding. The upper edge ofa siding panel is provided with outwardlyprojecting lugs or fingers that are slid or forced upwardly between thebody portion and curled edge on the lip portion of the trim strip sothat the lugs or fingers engage the bent or curled edge portion of thetrim strip.

For a more complete understanding of the invention and the objects andadvantages thereof, reference should be had to the following detaileddescription in the accompanying drawings wherein there is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the trim strip of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of a wall structure showing thetrim strip positioned immediately below a window sill preparatory toinserting a siding panel into the trim strip;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the panel of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 2, showingthe siding panel in its installed position;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

It will be understood that, while in the following description referenceis made to clapboard style siding and to the use of the trim strip belowa window sill, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. Rather,the trim strip of the present invention may be used wherever it isdesired to secure a metallic panel along a projecting member. Forexample, the strip is also ideally suited for securing a fascia strip tothe upper edge or corner means of a wall.

Referring to FIG. 1, the trim strip of the present invention, designatedgenerally by the reference numberal 10, will now be described. The strip10 is formed of a length of sheet metal and has a substantially flatbody portion 12. The body portion 12 may be provided with horizontallyextending stiffening ribs 14 and with a horizontally extending series ofholes 16 for receiving nails 18 employedto secure the strip to thebuilding wall. At the upper end to the body portion 12, the strip isbent to form a lip 20 extending in U or V-shaped relation to the bodyportion and terminating in a curled end portion or flange 22 which isbent or curled first toward the back portion 12 and then toward thefront or lip 20, as indicated at 24. A narrow gap 25 is provided betweenthe end portion 22 and the main portion 12 of the strip 10.

A siding panel 26 adapted to be used with the trim strip 10 is shown inFIGS. 2, 3 and 4. This panel 26 has a body portion27 which terminatesits lower end with an upwardly projecting lip 28 and which is providedat its upper end 29 with a series of outwardlyv projecting fingers orlugs 30. These lugs 30 are suitably cut or pressed out fromthe panel andare formed so that their lower edges face downwardly and terminateouwardly of the surface of the body portion 27 of the panel.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 4, the use of the trim strip 10 of. thepresent invention will now be described. FIG. 2 illustrates a portion ofthe external wall of a structure which is covered with an existingsiding 32 and which has a window 34. A sill 36 'is provided at thebottom of the window and projects outwardly beyond the surface of thesiding 32. The numeral 38 designates a siding panel which has beeninstalled on the existing wall below the window 34. This panel is ofconventional construction and is provided with a downwardly projectinglip 40 near its upper edge and a series of holes 42 along its upper edgefor receiving nails 44 to secure the siding panel 38 to the buildingwall. The trim strip 10 is secured to the wall by means of the nails 18with the upper edge of the strip abutting the lower edge of the sill 36.A siding panel 26 is then cut to the proper height to extend between thelip 40 of the previously installed panel 38 and the lower edge of thesill 36 and it is made of the sill width. The aligned projecting lugs orfingers 30 are then suitably formed in the upper end of the panel 26.The upper end 29 of the panel 26 is inserted into the groove 25 betweenthe body portion 12 and the curled or bent end portion or edge 22 of thetrim strip. The panel 26 is then forced upwardly so that the lugs 30 areforced up beyond the end 24 of the lip of the trim strip. At the sametime, the upwardly projecting lip 28 at the lower end of the panel 26 isengaged by the downwardly projecting lip 40 of the previously installedpanel 38. Or the panel 26 can be slid into engagement with the trimstrip and panel 26. The end portion 24 of the trim strip lip engages thelower edges of the lugs 30 and thus serves to retain the panel 26 inplace. It will be noted that the nails 18 which secure the trim strip inplace are now covered by the panel 26 and therefore do not detract fromthe appearance of the paneling. Additional panels 46 may now beinstalled to complete the wall covering and form a neat, attractivefacing for the building.

While the panel 26 has been described as being a separate panel cut tofit the space between the trim strip and a previously installed lowerpanel 38, it is also contemplated that the panel 26 may merely be aportion of a longer panel. This is a preferably arrangement as it avoidsjoints between adjacent horizontal panels below the windows. In such asituation, a notch is cut into the upper edge of a horizontal panel withthe notch width being equal to that of the window sill. The lugs 30 arethen formed along the upper edge of the notched portion of the panel andthe panel is installed in the same manner as has been described.

While only the best known embodiment of the invention has beenillustrated and described herein, it will be understood that theinvention is not limited thereto or thereby. Reference should thereforebe had to the appended claims in determining the true scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A siding panel and trim strip combination, comprising:

a metallic siding panel having a plurality of outwardly projecting lugsformed thereon in a line parallel to and closely adjacent the upper edgeof the panel, the lugs having edges thereon facing'downwardly; and

a metallic trim strip having a substantially flat body portion adaptedto be secured to a structure wall, and a lip portion extending outwardlyand downwardly from the upper end of the body portion and terminating ina lower edge bent inwardly to a C- shaped configuration between the lipand body portions, the lip portion being of lesser height than the bodyportion, the siding panel being retained in place on the structure wallby inserting the upper edge of the panel between the body portion and C-shaped end of the lip portion of the trim member so that the C-shapedend engages the lugs of the panel; and

the lug edges being flat and the lower edge of said lip portion extendssubstantially horizontally and said lug edges engage the horizontal edgeof said lip portion for locked engagement therewith.

2. The combination of a trim strip and a building member or panel,comprising:

a trim strip having a generally flat body portion adapted to be securedto a wall, a lip portion bent from the upper edge of the body portionand extending in a slightly diverging relation to the body portion, thelip portion being of lesser height than the body portion, and asubstantially C-shaped flange portion formed at the lower edge of thelip portion and extending toward the body portion;

a building panel having a plurality of outwardly projecting lugs formedtherein adjacent the upper edge of the panel, the panel being secured inplace by the lugs of the panel engaging the flange portion of the trimstrip, the panel being free to move relative to the trim strip; and

said C-shaped flange portion having an inner edge extendingsubstantially horizontally out toward a central section of said lipportion and said lugs engage the horizontal edge of said lip portion.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein clearance is providedbetween the upper edge of the panel and said lip portion of the trimstrip, and the panel can move laterally and vertically upwardly of thetrim strip.

III l

1. A siding panel and trim strip combination, comprising: a metallicsiding panel having a plurality of outwardly projecting lugs formedthereon in a line parallel to and closely adjacent the upper edge of thepanel, the lugs having edges thereon facing downwardly; and a metallictrim strip having a substantially flat body portion adapted to besecured to a structure wall, and a lip portion extending outwardly anddownwardly from the upper end of the body portion and terminating in alower edge bent inwardly to a C-shaped configuration between the lip andbody portions, the lip portion being of lesser height than the bodyportion, the siding panel being retained in place on the structure wallby inserting the upper edge of the panel between the body portion andC-shaped end of the lip portion of the trim member so that the C-shapedend engages the lugs of the panel; and the lug edges being flat and thelower edge of said lip portion extends substantially horizontally andsaid lug edges engage the horizontal edge of said lip portion for lockedengagement therewith.
 2. The combination of a trim strip and a buildingmember or panel, comprising: a trim strip having a generally flat bodyportion adapted to be secured to a wall, a lip portion bent from theupper edge of the body portion and extending in a slightly divergingrelation to the body portion, the lip portion being of lesser heightthan the body portion, and a substantially C-shaped flange portionformed at the lower edge of the lip portion and extending toward thebody portion; a building panel having a plurality of outwardlyprojecting lugs formed therein adjacent the upper edge of the panel, thepanel being secured in place by the lugs of the panel engaging theflange portion of the trim strip, The panel being free to move relativeto the trim strip; and said C-shaped flange portion having an inner edgeextending substantially horizontally out toward a central section ofsaid lip portion and said lugs engage the horizontal edge of said lipportion.
 3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein clearance isprovided between the upper edge of the panel and said lip portion of thetrim strip, and the panel can move laterally and vertically upwardly ofthe trim strip.